89945 - Financial Reporting and Analysis

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the basic concepts of financial accounting, which involves the preparation of financial statements. Students will be able to analyze and interpret three key financial statements ( the Income Statement, the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement) and other financial information like ratios and key performance indicators used by managers and investors in their decision making process. In addition, students will be able to detect differences in annual reports due to national and international accounting standards to better compare company financial performance

Course contents

1) Financial Accounting vs Managerial Accounting

2) Basic accounting concepts (e.g. accrual accounting, going concern, materiality)

3) Financial Statements: The Balance Sheet

4) Common Size analysis and ratios of liquidity and solvency

5) Financial Statements: The Income Statement

6) Comparative analysis, margins and profitability ratios

7) Financial Statements: The Cash Flow Statement

8) Reporting and Disclosure: IAS/IFRS (IAS framework and some selected standards, e.g. IAS 16, IAS 36 )

9) Disclosure of Non-financial information (environmental, social and governance aspects) in light of EU Directive 2014/95/UE

Readings/Bibliography

Selected chapters of the following book:

"Accounting : what the numbers mean" by David H. Marshall, Wayne W. McManus, Daniel F. Viele - 10. ed, New York : McGraw-Hill, 2014

And

Teaching material (ppt slides and pdf files) distributed by the teacher and downloadable from the Unibo repository: iol.unibo.it

Teaching methods

Case studies, ongoing tests and problem sheets.

When applicable, students will have the possibility to interact with company managers and visiting professors

Assessment methods

Written exam

Teaching tools

Instructions will be provided the first day of class

Office hours

See the website of Selena Aureli